Twentynine Palms will continue to host the Corps’ most extensive combat training. “This is the best training venue where combined arms training, in a full-spectrum environment, can be performed,” Haskell said.

The combat center received the Commander-In-Chief’s Installation Excellence Award in 2012 for the third year running, a first for a Marine installation. Smith’s leadership was integral to modernization of the base, including construction or renovation of five barracks buildings, a new family housing neighborhood, and recreational and family centers for the base’s 28,000 full-time personnel, the Marines said.

Smith is deploying to Afghanistan to serve as deputy commander of the incoming 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Helmand province.

Under Berger’s leadership, the infrastructure overhaul and expansion of renewable energy projects will continue, the Corps said.

The Twentynine Palms base, located about 175 miles northeast of San Diego, is more than 900 square miles, the largest in the Corps. Last year, it opened a new mock city with more than 1,500 buildings in a space the size of downtown San Diego.

The Marine Corps hopes to expand the base by two-thirds in coming years to allow for larger live-fire exercises with an expeditionary brigade of perhaps 15,000 Marines.

Off-road enthusiasts have criticized the proposed move into Johnson Valley, on land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. A decision by the Navy Department expected in September was delayed to allow time to review more than 1,000 comments on an environmental impact report, many highly opposed.